Abstract:
The relentless pursuit of more transistors in a smaller area has driven the semiconductor industry since its start. This drive has now produced sophisticated SOCs (systems on chips) that include billions of transistors per design for memories and microprocessors. The costs of these large designs on small geometry processes make for a $50 million to multibillion-dollar project. Because of these costs, the advanced design work is being performed by significantly fewer development teams and companies and is outside the scope of most start-ups.

In contrast, MEMS (microelectromechanical systems), solid-state sensors, and new applications of nanotechnology are rapidly gaining in importance and diversity. These areas of creative design activity require a stronger interaction between design and processing technology. The result of this interaction is the modification and advancement of the process technology as well as the creation of new designs and design methods.